A Red String Under Ten Million Stars
by Tammy Sakamoto
Summary: For every star shining brighter than the moon tonight, she wished that he would kiss her once. "Yo, that's alotta stars Princess!" "...So?" "Hmph.", he sat up and went behind her, "Then...I guess I should start now."  That was the first string. KenseixOC
1. A Memory to Last The Next Mellenium

**Thank you everyone who is totally crazy about Kensei! I know I do! **

**I also like the idea of princesses. I don't know why, but I really like them! Especially the traditional Chinese ones back in, well, Ancient China! I've made an Itachi OC about a princess, but its not in Fan Fiction. **

**Anyway, I'm thinking of making some sort of Princess Collection here, but I've still got to take care of my Byakuya story, which I hope that you will read too!**

**I'm going to keep trying to update this story so that it becomes a really popular Kensei OC. But I'm going to need your help!**

**Please review! They are the joys of any author on any website!**

**-Tammy Sakamoto**

ONE

The sounds of crickets chirping faded away as the night's first stirring of wind softly blew the tall blades of grass northbound. None would have been able to realize that two figures lay upon the field beyond mediocre woods which found the companionship of nothing but small critters and the breeze.

One of the two strangers to the forest, the female, was clad in the most elaborate fabrics made of the highest quality silk cocoon. She played with a blade of grass as her bent knees kicked into the air freely and happily. To the left of the maiden, her partner dressed himself in lower quality cloths, but his simple attire of a sleeveless shihakusho and white Taicho haori was constructed of the best linen and strongest linen the Thirteen Court Guard Companies could provide.

Unlike the female, he laid still and calm, taking serenity in how the breeze hit his bare forearms and elbow, and how the cool winds blew the sweet murmurs of his companion over to his ears.

Exactly like a gentle and comforting lullaby.

They were as different as the sun and the moon, the ocean and the sky, the turtle and the rabbit. The skin was as pale as the sixteenth moon, an attribute of hers that he often complemented her on. His complexion on the other hand was in no way flawless, little scratches here and there adorned every part of his form due to the countless times battle and death met him straight in the eye. His limbs, back and chest were well built and defined, hers was thin and showed no sign of muscle formation. Her locks were too long and cascaded down to her low back and as black as midnight. The young man's hair on the other hand were silver as the moon in the sky that night.

But no matter how different they could be, she was the night and he was the moon. Both coexisted beside one another, lending their beauty in order to intensify their power even more.

_'He could be as different from me as can be...and I would still...'_, the female told herself as she examined the males defined jaws from the corner of her eyes.

_'I would...still...'_, a smile crept over her lips and a small giggle escaped. She turned over to her side and held her mouth as an attempt to muffle her shy laughs.

With her back turned to face him, the silver haired man was unable to see her face. Though he was much rather look at her eyes than the back of her head, he appreciated how smooth and soft a females hair could be. He was tempted to run his fingers through the black tresses. Because of her giggles that she tried to hide from him, his interest was spiked and he wanted to know the reason as to why she would have acted like so at that particular moment.

_'Everything about her...the things that she does, always makes make me want to know more about her...'_, this time it was the male's thoughts as he supported his body with his right elbow and leaned over to see her face.

When he made out the side of her cheek through her arm sleeves, it comforted him once more.

"Oi, what's up Princess?", his gruff voice pierced through the wind.

She giggles erupted again once the sound of his voice traveled through her ears. If her murmurs were his lullabies, then his stern and rough voice was hers.

"...Nothing...it's...", that though from before rang through her mind, and she stifled her laughter again, "...nothing!"

"...That was totally a lie...", he muttered, but laid back onto the soft grass. Most often these days she would react like so, and she would never tell him what had happened.

_'But that's okay.'_, he figured, _'I can always use that excuse to talk to her in the future...'_

He had stopped denying his affections toward her a few months back. And though he knew his place as a professional and mature Taicho, he allowed himself to stay by her side.

As long as they were standing beside one another, maybe everything would be fine.

Finally, she turned back to look at the night sky, the moon shining back on her cheeks.

"Kensei-kun...", she begun.

"It's Muguruma Taicho.", he grunted.

She smiled, "Kensei-kun...don't you think the stars are really pretty?"

"They're just stars you know. It's all burning balls of gas."

"They're more than that. There's so many of them. That's got to mean that they're special in some way."

"...Whatever, you're right Princess."

"Of course! I'm always right!"

He gave her a deadpanned look and turned back to the sky, "What I think is better than the stars is the sky at night."

She scoffed and crossed her arms, "Now THAT is nothing at all. The sky is just a vacuum in space you know!"

"_No..._It's so large and grand. That's _got_ to mean that they're special in some way. I'm always right! Tee Hee!"

"Huh?", she blushed and turned over to him, 'I don't sound like that!"

"Tee Hee! Tee Hee!", he continued, a satisfied smirk on his face appeared when he saw her getting frustrated.

"You're so immature!"

"What are you saying? I'm as mature and serious as it gets around here."

"Tee Hee! Tee Hee! What's all that about then?"

"Oh, I'm just trying to show you how you sound to us Shinigami, Princess."

"...", she didn't say anything, but simply lied down on her backside again, trying not to destroy that precious moment that night could still offer.

He sighed and closed his eyes, his hands going back to his head to support his aching neck. At the movement, the black haired girl looked at him curiously, wonder growing in her head as she asked herself how it would feel like to have his arms wrapped around her. She smiled and used her fingers to cover her lips.

"Kensei-kun."

"Yeah Princess?"

"Um...what can you do with stars?"

"...Huh?"

"..."

"Well...I remember my mother telling me that she would often wish on one star each night as a kid-"

She gasped, "Really?"

"Yeah...I guess. Though I doubt that it would work."

"I'm going to wish on each and everyone of them then!"

"Pf...you wish on only one star, Princess."

"Well I'm going to change that!"

"...", he glared at her. The fact that a girl younger than him could change laws and regulations angered him. He believed that respect was gained by oneself. If there came a time when he he to mention one thing he disliked about the Princess, it would be just that.

Ignoring her hunch that the ninth Division Taicho was boring holes into her temple, she clapped her hands together and looked at one star.

Once more, silence over fell the two as the wind began blowing through the grass again. This one that was present no was not as sweet as the previous quietness from a few minutes back due to the lack of their Princess' mumbles to herself. But he told himself that as long as the black sky reminded him of her long hair and she was lying beside him...he would be just as content.

"So sappy...", he frowned to himself, the female did not reply.

"Oi Princess."

She blinked and turned her head to face him.

"What are you wishing for?"

He asked himself if he just saw her eyes twinkled and if he was imagining the growing tinge of red on her pale face. The black haired girl did not answer his question.

"..."

"Well?"

I blinked again at the sudden irritation in his voice and lowered her gaze to his tattooed chest.

"...I'm not saying."

"Come on!"

"...No...no way!", she shut her eyes, wondering herself if the flush on her cheeks were too noticeable.

"Come on!", by this time, his irritation had blown up to the roof.

"No...", she whined.

"Just one then!"

"...I wished that you would be nicer to me."

"...What kind of a wish is that? I'm equally nice to everyone!"

"Are you kidding me? You're the meanest guy out there!"

"I'm just really mature!"

"Like, yeah right...!"

"Why you..."

"But anyway...I told you my wish. I'm going to finish off with the rest of the stars in the sky!"

"...But really, what else did you wish for?"

"Kensei-kun...", she groaned and closed her eyes again.

"Why can't you just tell me?"

"It's...too embarrassing!"

"You don't have to be embarrassed with me you know!"

"Yes I do..."

"Okay fine. I'm not going to ask you to tell me all your wishes. But just one more then."

"...Why are you so persistent today?"

"I'm just...curious."

_'I'm curious to see if any of your other wishes are about me...'_

"...I've made the same wish on each and every other star..."

"...Really?", he seemed genuinely surprised, "Just tell me then."

"...I can't!"

"...Princess..."

She slowly looked over to the silver haired Taicho. She could tell that her blush grew more radiant with her realization of how close their hands really were.

"...Okay. Fine...I'll tell you. But...you have to promise not to get angry at me!", she pointed her finger at him, to which he nodded.

"...", he said nothing but only nodded, "Okay."

"...", she looked down at her fidgeting fingers and bit her lips.

"..."

"...", one third silence grew around them. His curious spiked again and his anticipation became unbearable.

"What is it?", he snapped, to which her blush grew.

"I...I..."

"...?"

"I wished that...you know...you...you..."

His eyes started twitching, the his fingers gathered two fistfuls of his hair, tightly pulling on them.

"...Come on!"

"You...would...", she whined and shot up from her lying position.

"I wished on each and every star that you would kiss me!", I cried and covered her face.

His eyes widened and if possible, his tanned face had grown even more crimson than her own. The fourth silence swept through the field of grass. She held her face within her sleeved kimono moving not even one inch. The Ninth Division Taicho scratched his chin, perplexed at what he should have done at this particular moment.

And then finally, he sat up behind her and enveloped her smaller form in his arms.

She tensed and tucked her chin into her collarbone.

"Each and every star?"

"...Mmmhmmm.", I squeaked out.

He nodded in understanding, arms tightening around her even more. She gasped and slowly let one eye peek out of her fingers.

"Kensei-kun..."

"Well then,", he whispered and one one hand pulled her creamy hands away from her red face, "That's a lot of stars up there..."

The black haired female shied away from him and attempted at pulling herself out of his muscled arms.

_'So that's how it feels like...'_

Kensei grunted and pulled her back, forcing her face to turn to his own.

"...Princess."

"I'm sorry..."

He grew angry, 'Why are you sorry? There's nothing to be sorry about this!"

"But it made you uncomfortable..."

"...", he frowned and closed his eyes, "No it didn't..."

Her eyebrows raised up to her forehead, her cheeks grew even more red than before.

"It didn't?"

"I said it didn't, didn't I?", he glared at her and nuzzled her neck.

"...", she shifted around so that her chest was face his own bare one.

He stared at her and then up to the sky, "That's got to be an endless void of stars in the sky. The universe is infinite after all."

"No it isn't..."

"Yes. It is. Got that?", he growled and glared at her.

Kensei, who saw how the moon reflecting the harshness of the red on her cheeks, softened his gaze.

"Okay.", she whispered and focused her attention to his strong neck.

"Good.", he nodded in satisfaction and pulled the black haired girl even closer him to. By this point, her arms were glued in between the two of them.

"...Kensei-kun."

"Yep...there's definitely numerous amounts of stars you just wished on."

She nodded embarrassingly.

"...Then..."

Her eyes widened as her back hit the softness of the tall blades. Kensei shadowed every piece of light around her, so the only thing that she could direct her undivided attention to was his breath on her neck.

"I should start making your wish come true right now, Princess."

"K-Kensei-"

He brought the final silence of the night into presence with one peck on her lips. One deeper one came. The third kiss lingered on longer than the first two. The fourth involved a flick of his tongue. Hers. One rough murmur. And one tiny hum.

One kiss followed the previous one. Occupying the rest of the night for the strangers of the woods..

...

...

...

The pitter and patter of heavy rainfall rumbled through her ears, beating at her eardrums until she couldn't even hear the sounds of her bones breaking anymore.

The pain was unfortunately everything but gone, nothing but present. She would have whimpered or screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping that somehow her sense of touch could vanish or maybe that the death grip on her limbs would release on command.

To scream means to show suffering. Of the things she could still remember from a past childhood continuously fading away, she was taught never to let anyone see her suffer.

So she would hold it in. She'll keep up her apathetic facade no matter how much she wanted to squirm and screech into the air.

"_Never allow anyone to see you suffer."_

If she could move her lips, the corners would have curled upward into the skies.

Never allow anyone to see you suffer.

She would have let him see that side of her. No matter what her social standing was or his.

And he would have kindheartedly kissed them all away. Shower her with the tens of hundreds of kisses like the nights spent in the open plain grass field.

But...

Experimentation.

Hollowfication.

Execution.

Escape.

Criminal.

Those words cut their ties. The threads she and him wounded wildly around their very being was roughly disconnected, pulling at her heart.

Making it bleed.

_You are no longer here to protect me Kensei._

_Kensei..._

_You promised never to leave me alone._

_But you did in the end._

Yes, he began tying the first red string together. He tied the next thousands as well. And then she let go of her hesitation and began knotting them together even more. And she was a fool for doing that. Because in the end, after all the tight knots she had secured between them, no matter how strong they were stood no chance against the

harsh

rough

paining

tugs he made as he snatched them away.

He's gone.

Kensei's gone.

He was pulled out of her thoughts by the softening of the cold rain. It was still loud though, but just a bit more silent, enough just to let her hear the sounds of a zanpakuto slicing through the thick air and water.

She pulled her eyes from the ground and looked directly at the blade aimed at her throat. The hilt of it led to a hand followed by an arm, then a shoulder, shaggy brown hair and then the sinister eyes of none other than Sosuke Aizen.

When deep brown clashed against mahogany, the rain poured down heavily once more. She couldn't hear the sound waves travel to her. She didn't even have to try to read his lips. She knew what he was saying. What he was asking. What he was demanding of her in exchange for her life she knew he wouldn't intend to keep living after the secret was revealed.

The key to the Soul King's Dimension, that's what he's demanding her to hand over.

She said nothing. Why say anything? If it wasn't for him, then maybe Kensei could have stayed hers for the rest of time.

She turned to face the two Shinigami standing behind him. They were at fault too. She would never tell the location of it.

Upon not hearing the proper response he wanted, the brown haired man tilted his chin up. It signaled to the Hollow to grind her joints together more.

She did not scream still, though the difficulty of breathing made it so that her raspy intake of breath was heard.

He spoke again. She remained monotone. Aizen spoke about her life again.

And her lips twitched.

Her life? He couldn't bribe or threaten her anymore with her life. She didn't want it anymore.

_Oh, how the pain was unbearable,_ she pondered in her mind as the monster squeezed harder. She felt the bones crack again. No, not cracked,

Snapped.

It should have killed her, after feeling ten or plus bones break under pressure. But the evil and horrible Shinigami, daring to stand before her made sure that it wouldn't happen. "Let her suffer some more, we'll get it out of her soon enough." He was toying with her life, not letting her die, but not letting her live.

_I'll help you with that..._

Her lips twitched one final time, before breaking out into the sweetest smile she's ever radiated since his execution date was announced.

Aizen stopped talking and gave and equally perfect smile. The tip of his hypnotic sword poked at her long throat, and the hollow grasped onto her frail body even more.

Yes, the suffering was very painful.

But she would never allow anyone to see her suffer. Not anymore.

Her smile turned smug and wicked, before her eyes dimmed and became void of emotion, the corners of her lips falling back neutrally. Her head tilted forward, her chin rested on the dirty fingers of the massive Menos.

She could have passed for a sleeping girl, if it wasn't for all the blood that now gushed out from her lips.

He lowered his sword, frowning, and placed the metal under her fallen chin to examine her beautiful face.

"...What happened?", a young Gin asked from behind him.

"I thought that you made sure she wouldn't die from the Menos holding her.", Tousen added in.

"I wouldn't have let that happen. But she didn't die from the Menos.", the brown haired man replied, "She bit her tongue to bring everything she knew into death."

"...Shit!", Gin smiled, raising his shoulders up. "The Princess just died, Soul Society would be too happy about dis huh?"

"...How unfortunate."

Aizen used the fabric of the dead maiden's orange kimono to wipe away the blood on Kyoka Suigetsu, "No. No one will realize that she is dead. And no one will come looking for her.

Her bones will forever remain here in the Crying Forest."

And they left, leaving her there to rot.

Of the three Shinigami, the shortest one with the silver hair briefly halted to look back at the Princess' corpse now collapsed on the ground.

His small hands bunched into hard fists.

His stoic mask was still in place.

"..."

_'I'm sorry.'_

And he left as well.

…

…

...

When she bit, she bit hard. Enough to draw blood, and even enough to engulf herself in pure bright light.

Was this the meaning of your life flashing before your eyes?

When the white light dispersed, instead of finding herself held hostage by the Fifth Division Lieutenant, a small lady stood before her. She wasn't in the raining forest anymore. She was upon some white clouds, and clear blue sky completing the puffy cottons. The princess no longer wore the wet silk rags of her kimono, but was clothed in a simple white yukata.

The old woman, dressed in a replica yukata except for in violet handed her a small stone bowl, holding in a clear liquid that resembled drinking water.

It wasn't drinking water though. It was amnesia serum.

She, the Princess has died, and was now preparing to be reborn in the world of the living.

She's dead.

And maybe it was for the best, after everyone left her behind.

As if it wasn't the first time she was here, the younger maiden took the bowl by her two hands and brought it to her lips.

"My dear,", the old senior spoke, her voice gentle and loving, "you must drink the entire liquid."

Her mahogany eyes looked at the old ones understandably, and began pouring the serum down her throat in the most refined way, handing the stone bowl back to the lady before bowing. She bowed back in courtesy and looked onward as the younger girl was engulfed by light again.

Before she turned into the glowing white orb that shot down to the visible Earth-the home of humans-below, the old lady saw her smile in content and close her wide almond eyes. The lady sighed and shook her head, mourning that such a beauty died at such a young age.

When she brought her attention back to the bowl where the Princess drank in, the old lady gasped.

She had instructed her to drink the entire potion.

The stone white bowl was three quarters of a way completed.

She shook, though she wasn't angry.

"We'll be seeing another one with unnatural powers again in Karakura Town!", she softly laughed to herself, before making her appointment with the next spirit passing.

…

…

...

No matter what they were, Shinigami or Human or Hollow, none will see the billions of networks of white orbs flying around the entire globe, shooting into homes and into the wombs of mother's stomachs.

One particular circled the blue water planet for nearly one century, before the time came for herself to shoot inside the swelling stomach like the rest of her companions.

It was the womb of a Japanese nurse and her partner a Japanese business man, residing in the town of Karakura, Tokyo, Japan, just as the old lady in the clouds had said.

…

…

…

_Ninety-two years later_

_Karakura Town, Japan_

_Karakura Clinic_

"My!", Kurosaki Isshin proclaimed, "What's her name, my star pupils?"

"It's Hamasaki Matsuhime, sensei."

"Matsu, named after her father.", she giggled and looked lovingly at her husband.

Hamasaki Yue smiled down at her, "And the suffix -hime, because she truly resembles a Royal Princess from a hidden world."

Isshin smiled, but the joy didn't reach his eyes.

_'Aizen.'_

…

…

…

_One hundred seven years later_

_Karakura Town, Japan_

_Karakura High School_

_Class 1A_

_9:30 AM_

_One hour after the start of school_

'Stealthy...stealthy...', I cheered on as I placed a hand on the shoji doors opening to my classroom. Double checking that the teacher was busily writing on the far board, I quietly pulled, allowing the sliding door (that I oiled with care for daily situation such as these) to silently open. Until it was just enough to let me go through, I stopped and quietly stepped into the room littered with posters encouraging academic pursuits.

Like the beginning, I shut the door behind me and began tip toeing through the columns of desk, while everyone looked at me and then at our sensei.

'Stealthy...stealth-'

"It's only the third day back from summer vacation and already you've begun your streak of constantly being late.", the firm voice of our female teacher rang out.

I froze on the spot, my head turning down to conceal my face.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Miss Hamasaki?", she frowned.

I sighed and slumped my shoulders, turning around to the front of the class and bowing to her.

"I'm sorry."

"Okay.", she shrugged and began writing in the green chalkboard again.

I gave a triumphant smile and fisted my hands and running to the back of the class.

"I don't get it.", an orange haired boy yawned, "You're always late. But sensei never gives you detention or yells at you like crazy."

I smiled once more and patted his shoulders, "It's me we're talking about here! And besides, sensei is always like that to everyone."

"Not to me...", he mumbled and crossed his arms. I blinked.

"Were you late Ichigo?"

"...Yes."

I grinned sat down onto my own seat, diagonally across from him in the second last row, pulling his notebook with me. He grabbed it and pulled the blue book back onto his desk and held it in place.

I frowned and opened up my backpack, "I'll take your notes for you if you let me copy the notes I missed."

"No! I'm using it right now!", he hissed.

"I'm offering to write your notes!"

"No!"

"Chad, may I use your notes then?"

The tall brown boy looked at me and brought his black book out for me. I glared at my orange haired friend when his own hand latched onto the thin book.

"Let go!", I whispered and yanked at his book, "Woah, when did your grip get so strong? Did you work out in the summer or something?"

"...Okay, let's leave it at that.", he hesitated and looked suspiciously at his tall dark friend. I stared at him oddly.

"Are you alright? Suddenly you just became pale in the face...You're hiding something aren't you?"

He snapped and flushed red, "No I am not!"

"The fact that you're not using conjunctions tells me that you are.", I squinted my eyes, pursed my lips and tugging at Chad's black notebook, easily pulling it out of the orange haired teenager's hold.

"Hey-!"

"HOLLOW! HOLLOW!"

"Kya!", I screamed and pulled the notebook to my chest, over my heart, "What was that?"

"T-that's...sensei! I have to go to the washroom!", he shouted and zoomed past all of us. I blinked when I saw something wooden hang off of his belt hook.

"What's that? Looks odd.", I turned to Chad.

He opened his mouth but froze, closing it and opting for another response to my question, "Wait, Hamasaki, you can see that badge?"

"Huh? What do you mean by that?", I looked up at him as he followed in pursuit with Ichigo, "Chad!"

"Chad! Where are you going?"

"...Washroom...!", he shouted and hurried out the doorway.

"What's with everyone today?", I asked myself before eying Ichigo's blue notebook. I snatched it and cackled, taking out a permanent marker and scribbling nonsense in the following six sheets of paper after his scratchy writing.

I love you Ichigo-kun! Mwa mwa mwa! Heart heart Matsuhime heart heart

I shook my head and giggled, snapping the book shut and turning to the back to throw the doodles back on its owner's desk. All of a sudden, I felt the uneven breathing of some beside my ear, causing me to lean back in surprise.

"Hey!", I hissed and placed a hand on my chest, sighing when I realized it wasn't Ichigo, "I thought that he came back..."

As I took a good look at the boy in front of me, I realized that he wasn't in our class before, and that it was the first time I've ever seen him. Blonde hair cropped to the base of his neck in a bowl cut style and thick choppy bangs framed his thin face. The face itself showed dull wide eyes...that were sparkling with disbelief and a slightly parted mouth to show a perfect row of teeth.

He looked like some sort of voodoo doll, I suppose.

"Who are you?", I asked to which he closed his thin lips and swallowed.

"...Hirako Shinji."

"Oh. You're new then. Sorry I couldn't get to school in time to see your introduction.", I gave a goofy smile and pulled at my knee high socks, "Nice to meet you."

"...It's an honour to see you..."

"Hm...", I shrugged and was about to turn back to the front of the class, but he held my attention with the next word out of his mouth.

"Princess..."

My half turned neck veered back around and looked surprisingly at him, "How-"

"Namie Hime,", he hissed and leaned forward in his seat, so that his face was closer to mine, "Why did you come here? You should have just lived comfortably in the Soul Society! Do you know that because Toko thought you came here, she ran to this world too?"

I dumbly stared at him, having no idea what he was ranting on about.

"Namie Hime! Say something! And why did you never come to us? Why are you even a student here under a fake name of Hamasaki?"

...Fake name? I was lost.

"What?"

"Do you know that with your reiatsu, you could be attracting a lot of monsters into this place? With no sword to defend yourself and no knowledge of destruction chants, the World of the Living is NOT for you!"

I raised one hand to shut him up, "Are you saying something in nerd talk over here?"

"Princess! Don't jerk around with this! It is a matter of your life!"

"Um...", I looked at the other students taking noted and then back at the new student. With his glaring the life out of me and myself not knowing what he was blabbering on about and not know what else to say, I slowly creaked my spine to turned back to the board.

He kept on poking me and demanding an explanation for the rest of the day, to which I swallowed and shifted my butt closer to the edge of my seat, creating distance between the two of us. Oh gosh, I'm sitting near a freak who has been playing too much Internet adventure games...

The bells chimed and signaled the end of the school day. I waited impatiently for the other students to stand and bowed together before snatching my bag and zooming out the door.

I made it over to the shoe lockers before an arm shot out and grabbed onto my shoulder.

I screamed and clutched onto my side bag nervously. Shinji, as he called himself turned me around and bent down.

"Namie Hime.", he said seriously.

"Can you just give it a rest!", I huffed and stomped over to my slot, the blonde hot on my heels.

"Not until you give me a reason why you left the Seireitei!"

"I don't know what you're saying!"

"You should! If you didn't, then why do you have THAT?"

He was referring to the mark in the centre of my forehead, three diagonal marks in the shape of tiny sunflower seeds side by side and spaced out evenly.

I gasped and pulled his hand out of my black bangs, pushing him back and combing through the short locks again, "How dare you!"

"See?"

"It's a birthmark!", I shouted back and pulled the indoor sandal off my feet, "Something that I was born with you uncouth man!"

"Princess!"

"Okay, cut it with the Princess thing. I don't know how you could have gotten my name without anyone telling you it, but stay away from me! Both of my parent's are cops!"

That was a lie of course. They were business people who worked in America, and couldn't fight for their lives.

"So you ARE Nami Hime!", he pointed at me, stepping closer.

"I'm NOT!", I screeched out of frustration and pulled at the heels of my converse, "I'm name is Princess, yes. But it's not Namie Hime! It's Matsuhime!"

"You can change your name one thousand times but you are still going to be Namie Hime from one hundred years ago!", he shook my shoulders, overwhelmed by anger.

"Kya!", I hollered and force myself away from him, "One hundred years ago? You're crazy! For the last time, my name is Matsuhime! Hamasaki Matsuhime! Not your Nami Hime from last century! She's dead! DEAD DEAD DEAD!"

I jumped back a little when I saw the changed look on his face. It was taken back and overwhelmed with emotions. His arms rested against his sides, lips turning down, his shoulders slouching even more than what was normal for him, eyes glistening with...pain? Mentality?

I didn't stay long to clear that out. I ran out the main doors and to the public streets.

"What a weird person!"

…

…

…

"..."

He stepped into the seemingly abandoned warehouse that sheltered the eight of them for the past century. Unlike how he usually carried himself out to the world in a goofy and awkward manner, Shinji expressed a grim and pain looked on his face as he examined the contents inside the building.

No mush later after the door was shut tight behind him did another blonde show up. She walked casually over to him and crossed her arms, examining his facial features.

"What's wrong with you?", she piped up, breaking the silence.

He stared down at her and then turned away, marching over to one of the many hallways that led to everyone's bedrooms.

"Hey!", he growled and pushed his back so that he would stumble with the next five steps, "Are you ignoring me?"

He remained silent and continued walking, stopping only when he came across one of the metal doors adorning three large dents on it. Though he may have stopped walking, Shinji kept on with the silent facade as he stared at particularly nothing on the door.

"Hey!", Hiyori ran up to him and kicked his ankle, though he did not budge, "What the? What's wrong with you Shinji?"

"..."

"WHY ISN'T HE ANSWERING ME?", she screamed and walked over to the next door over, and turned the knob.

Yet he kept silent, looking own at the floor and then back at the gray metal door.

"HEY! ARE YOU DEAF NOW OR SOMETHING?", she stomped and threw her sandal at him. No response.

One of the other doors opened and a few heads poked out. A girl with green hair emerged from the largest door within the hallway following a rotund male with dark skin and baby pink hair. Three other doors similar in appearance opened, showing that each of them belonged to a raven haired girl, and a man in a green jumpsuit and a blonde tired looking male. They all looked at one another as the blonde in the red sweat suit continued to knock the daylights out of the lanky boy.

"ANSWER ME WOULD YOU?", she hollered and gave him one kick in the face, successfully making him collide with the white wall opposite of the dented door.

Said door opened abruptly and a black boot came into view, following two gloved hands gripping the vertical ledges of the door. Out stepped a tall and enormously muscular man with cropped silver hair and piercings. He looked around to the other faces in the lit hallway, to Hiyori and then tp the former Fifth Company Captain.

He raised one eyebrow, the one with the gold hoop, "Would you please be quiet?", he growled in irritation, baring his top row of white teeth.

As he examined the blonde man more closely, he noticed that he was beginning to get up from the cold floor, his eye shadowed by his thick bangs. The usually grin he had was nowhere to be found and was replaced by an unfortunate glum look.

"...What's with you? And why were you standing in front of my doorway like that?", he questioned, his eyes squinting.

"That's what I'M trying to figure out!", the shorter blonde ran up to the two poking the lanky blonde's elbow, "Hey! Hey!"

"Yo, what's up?", he tilted his chin leaning against the ledge and staring intently at his friend. It was a rare cause for him to every act this way. Whenever the occasion came up though, there was always bad news to follow. Kensei made it his job to know of everything.

"...", Shinji looked up at him and after a few seconds later, turned to the side to look out at the end of the hallway to the makeshift living room.

"Shinji? What's the matter?"

"You alright man?"

"Master Shinji, are you alright?"

"Shinji!"

"Shinji?"

"Shinji-"

The man in the centre of attention lifted one arm to silence everyone of his long time friends and sighed, "You're not making this any easier for me to say."

"Shinji?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"Shinji?"

"Tell us!"

He growled and glared at each and everyone of them with great intensity. They stopped speaking once more and looked at each other, curiosity spiking up to the roof.

His eyes softened when landing on the silver haired Kensei's. The former Ninth Taicho's face scrunched up because he noticed, causing his own to become more pained. Finally, his mouth opened, revealing the intricate piercing nesting in the centre of his tongue.

"I have news on Nami Hime..."

They were all taken back by this one single phrase. Kensei's eyes widened, and he stepped closer to the shorter man.

"The Princess? Quickly! Tell us then!", he shouted in his face. Usually, Shinji would have back away, but not this time, and it really worried Kensei. Mind anyone, he wasn't worried about the blonde, for the past one hundred years, he had been sitting on the edge of his seat, jumping and senses heightening whenever there was a topic on the black haired Princess.

His hopes were lifted, and for once in his life, he wasn't breathing heavily from a fight or because he had just finished a round of shouting at Mashiro.

They all looked at him, waiting for the news of the Princess they had left behind. Their attention didn't falter even when the shortest girl, one with dull black hair stepped into the scene.

Her name was Toko.

"Did you just say Princess...Shinji?', she squeaked, moving out of her own room from the end of the hall.

"Oh...Toko...", Shinji weakly grinned and waited for her to bring her feet over to the rest of the crowd.

He looked at her when she stood in between him and her old owner's lover. She wasn't one of them, but one year after their escape with Tessai, Kisuke and Yoruichi, she had somehow managed to get through the Sekaimon by herself. The seemingly five year old girl literally crashed through the warehouse's doors, and until this day, they had welcomed her to live with them.

They had all been waiting for the day when the Hime would come back, ever since the shocking news reached them along with the little maid. Apparently, the Nami Hime had left the barrier surrounding the Seireitei and afterward, just disappeared. Her spirit energy had suddenly disappeared, but the fact that Hollows never ate all of their prey and her body was never found was enough proof for the Commanding Captain that she wasn't dead, and Nami Hime was somewhere to be found alive.

They could do nothing else but believe and hope that she will be able to survive on her own, at least until the day they cross paths again. All of them had been waiting. But none of them have been waiting as desperately as this girl named Toko and Muguruma Kensei.

"Shinji?", she asked, her voice croaky from the lack of talking on her end to the other Visoreds, "Shinji, what were you going to say about Nami Hime? Is she here?"

The short girl was about to hurry toward the main door before his long finger caught her shoulder.

"She's not here."

"Aw...", she sighed and looked up toward Kensei, her self proclaimed father figure. In return, he stared back at her similar coloured orbs, trying to lift up her spirits, meanwhile attempting to keep his disappointment concealed.

"So Shinji,", the silver haired man grew serious and peered at the blonde, "Could you just quit making us curious and keeping Toko worried and just spill the beans?"

"...You mean don't keep you worried, Kensei?", he back talked, receiving a glare from the mentioned man.

"...What news do you have on the Princess? Tell-"

"Would you just try to keep calm?", Shinji cut through preventing all of them from hearing an earful from the Ninth Captain's. Immediately, he closed his mouth. It was worth it, if he could learn more about the Princess.

"...Look, Nami,", he began, brushing his fingers through his yellow locks, "Do you know how everyone thinks that she ran to the Human World after she went missing? That's only half true from the actual truth. She didn't run to the Human World, she CAME to the Human World."

He blinked twice, irritation growing with every passing millisecond, "That the heck? That means the same thing."

"Just...let me finish,", he closed his eyes and allowed his head to roll back, "There's no one that can confirm it, but when Nami went missing, and everyone thought she ran after us, she was probably killed."

Kensei erupted with enormous anger, "How can you SAY that? Of course she didn't die! I wouldn't have allowed that-"

"But Kensei! You weren't there!", the blonde shouted back, snapping his head back to stare at his friend square in the eye, "You left her! No! We ALL left her! Not a single Shinigami in this building or in the Seireitei bothered to go after her! She was killed! By who I can only guess was Aizen."

"No...she's not dead, you can't prove it. Right guys? He's just spouting nonsense.", he looked on hopefully at the others. Some of them shared the some of them shared the same expression he wore, some looked as if they were beginning, If not already believing the blonde's words.

"Shinji,", Love began, "How can you be sure of it?"

"...I...I...saw her today."

They all turned back to look at him, eyes wide in shock. Kensei allowed one large sigh escape and took a confident step forward, placing his hands on Shinji's shoulders. A relaxed grin played upon his lips as his tone lightened, "Geez! Why didn't you just say so? Man Shinji, you had me all pissed off just now. But I guess its worth it, now that we can finally see the Princess again."

He stared down at the girl called Toko and smiled, "You hear that Toko? We've found the Princess! She can live with us now, and we'll always protect her, just like old times-"

"Kensei...", she whispered, silencing him in an instant. Though his smile never disappeared, they had definitely weakened when he saw the hopeless look she gave him, "I don't think that's what Shinji is saying..."

His eyebrows furrowed together, but his smile never faltered, "Hey...Toko...why are you..."

"Kensei.", Love began and shook his head, "Just listen."

He stared at the long haired Visored, but shook off all the negativity and beamed his smile again, "So Shinji, when is the Princess moving over?"

Shinji's gazed hardened, "Dead. She's dead. She was killed, Kensei."

But Kensei's smile didn't disappear. He treated this whole notion of death casually. Kensei held onto the fact that Shinji had said he met her.

So she was still alive.

He wanted to move...but why wasn't his feet letting him.

"I...don't understand...", he whispered, but his smile never left.

He could hear Mashiro whining sadly, and Lisa, from the corner of his eye, was trying to comfort the young Toko as she began whimpering.

The corner of his lips quivered. He was sure everyone saw.

"Shinji,", it was Hiyori, "Explain it to him more clearly."

He sighed, turning to look at the floor, at most of the females breaking down, "She was killed Kensei. She died over one hundred years ago. She died even before Toko came to live with us."

"..."

"Today, when meeting Kurosaki Ichigo, I saw a girl that looked exactly like her in his class. The hair, the eyes, the body structure, the voice and personally. Everything was exactly the same. Even down to the Imperial Family mark on her forehead. She Had it. That's proof enough."

"...Then its her."

Shinji growled, his patience and shell breaking as Kensei never never once stopped himself from keeping that smile plastered on his face.

"...I...I have to go get her. You're putting the princess in more danger by just talking away like this."

"Don't bother, Kensei!", he huffed before continuing, "At first, I believed that it was actually her. Well...it is...but she insisted that she wasn't Nami. The way that she reacted when I talked about Hollows and everything outside of normal human day life told me that she thought I was insane. She doesn't get it. But I kept on trying to force it out of her, make her confess that she was really Nami."

"She must have been hiding it."

Love sighed and stared at Hiyori, who shrugged, "Why would she hide something like that?"

"Exactly. Kensei, look. This is what I meant by that she CAME to the World of the Living. After the Princess died, she was reincarnated into a normal human girl. Her name's Hamasaki Matsuhime. And...when I examined her reiatsu, it isn't the same as the Nami Hime we knew."

"..."

Toko and Mashiro kept on crying.

"..."

"The Fifteenth Princess, Hakusensha Nami, is dead. Dead since one hundred years ago. DEAD DEAD DEAD..."

And everything fell silent between the ones that were not openly mourning with tears.

"Kensei?", Hiyori asked carefully. His chin tilted down and none of them could see his face.

Within perspective of the silver haired Visored, he secretly looked at everyone looking at him with pitiful eyes.

And then, he looked up.

His smile widened.

"Well...", he sighed, "The dead is dead...". Kensei's smile widened and he pulled Toko away from Lisa.

"..."

They all looked at him. He raised an eyebrow.

"What? You can't just live the rest of your life grieving in her death now can you? Come on! Lighten up!"

"..."

"Pf...what's wrong with you guys? Don;t look at me like that. I'm fine. The Princess will live on in my heart."

"..."

"You're really downing my vibe, you know that? Like Shinji said, she's dead.", the silver haired man smiled, "We can't do anything. We all have to die some day right? It's life. Let's just move on. Forget about the Princess and be happy, like me. I'm fine. I'm fine can't you see that? So don't...don't look at me like that!"

He looked down at the girl holding onto his hand, "Let's go inside my room, okay Toko? Everything will be okay."

He gently pushed her in, following shortly after her. Before he shut the door and locked it, he turned back to smile at every other Visored remaining in the halls. Mashiro had retreated to her room, and so had Lisa and Hiyori, leaving Shinji and the other males looking on at him.

He smiled, the brightest smile he could ever conjure up, "Don't be sad guys. It'll be all okay.", he nodded and patted Shinji's shoulder roughly, "Thanks, Shinji, for telling me."

With that the silver haired man shut the door on their faces, before any of them could reply.

Once the metal door was locked, Kensei looked over at the five year old looking child behind him, wiping her fingers repeatedly over her eyes. He sighed and ruffled her hair on his way crossing over to the side of the large bedroom. Upon reaching the desk, he pulled open one of the drawers and began throwing paper everywhere.

Toko stared after her father figure as she ran over to his bed and sat on the hard mattress and pulled at a the single lone stuffed gray bear into her short arms. She resumed her loud crying, but allowed her eyes to peer over the large animal to see what the ex-Captain was up to.

He was shocked to see that he wasn't beating anything up like he often did when he was mad. He hummed when he held up a clean sheet off paper and walked over to the bare wall of his room. She blinked and grasped the animal he bought for her tightly as he sat down and laid his back on the cold white wall of his room. The paper was held pridefully in his gloved hands.

Toko frowned when she noticed that the stupid smile was still present. She stepped off the bed and ran to him, her feet between his ankles, his legs laid outstretched in front of his sitting form.

"Kensei...", she whimpered as he allowed her to sit down and lean into his firm chest.

"Huh?", he smiled, patting her head with the hand not grasping the white sheet of paper.

"...Why aren't you mad?"

He laughed, "Why would I be mad?"

"...But...Nami Hime..."

"I know she died, but we can't do anything about it.", he sighed.

After a moment of hearing her hiccups, he brought the paper in front of the two of them, bringing a gasp to escape the child's lips.

"This is the first time I've shown this picture to anyone else.", explained, "I got it one winter a long time ago. It took hours for the guy to draw it perfectly and made me pay stacks of money..."

"It's Nami Hime...", she confirmed and let a finger touch the cool sheet of paper. On it was a portrait drawing of the Princess, in a kimono with a single hair ornament adorning her styled black hair.

"The guy actually asked me if there was anyone that looked like that in real life. I told him that it was my girlfriend, and he laughed, saying that I had a lot of luck if I can find someone like her..."

"Kensei?", she whispered looked at the calloused fingers tracing the outline of the picture's heart shaped face.

"And you know what I said? I-"

"Kensei!", she cried and began crying loudly again, shaking and wailing out her Princess' name.

He swallowed and smiled, paying no heed to the cry child and continuing to stare at the smiling drawing, "..."

"...sniff..."

Kensei smiled and brought the paper closer to his face, "I told him 'Thanks for drawing it so perfectly', because it really DOES look exactly like her, and its the first picture I've have of the Princess..."

He listened to the loud and pained cries of Toko leaning on his chest, bring the picture even closer to his face.

"When I look at it...even though it's not really a photograph of the Princess...", he whispered, his mouth only hovering a few inches away from the portrait's lips. They were shaking.

"It's not really her, but the drawing is so good that I actually feel like Nami Hime is really present with me then..."

He closed his eyes, allowing his lips to press gingerly over the shaded paper's. Only a moment passed before he let the paper fall out of his hand and onto the floor. In suit with his lips, his entire body began to shake.

Toko turned around to look at his shadowed face, "Are...sniff..are you angry Kensei?"

His smile remained, though his eyes were shielded as he shook his head, "No...why would I be? But..."

He clenched his teeth and hugged the smaller child roughly. She began crying again and calling out the name of the girl they had been waiting for for the last ten decades.

"Why does my entire body feel like its going to break?"

He allowed her hollers to fill the entire room and the rest of the warehouse, in order to blank his mind from thinking of screaming at the top of his lungs.

-TBC-

**In the title of this Fanfic, the red string in the Japanese culture signifies a bond between two lovers for eternity, or so I collect. So 'A Red String Under Ten Million Stars' should tell the reader that this story is about a love that bloomed underneath ten million stars.**

**Anyway, please review!**

**Tammy Sakamoto **


	2. Turn Back The Pendulum

**How did you guys feel about the first Chapter? Please tell me! **

**And please review on the second one too!**

**I think I realized that Kensei had become too OOC in the first one. But please! I'm going to keep him in character as much as possible from now on! **

**Oh, and please review!**

**-Tammy Sakamoto**

THREE

_Allow us to stop the time in this instant moment of present day..._

_And bring you back one mellenium._

_See the rise and fall of a precious Princess that the entire Dimension knew to be Hakusensha Nami Hime of the Royal Family..._

_And see the damage and treason the criminal Aizen Sosuke caused._

_..._

_..._

_..._

_One mellenium before present day Japan..._

_The Soul King Dimension_

I sat within a bare palace, once decorated and filled with treasures only true royalty could afford. Those jewels I had gained and inherited, were all taken away from me.

He only allowed me ten empty crates that I was free to fill up with belongings I felt was necessary. The rest was given to my sisters. Thirty of them to be exact.

Fifteen obnoxious, prissy, uptight little witches. From the fourteen older ones to the fifteen little brats younger than me.

That wasn't all that became of my property.

The palace I grew up alone in ever since my empress mother passed away-eighty years prior to this night-would now be reconstructed to house pigs.

No, not the livestock, but my sixteen older brothers. Judging by the way that they lived, they were not pretty far from the little swirly tailed animals.

I didn't want to know how this place would look like the next day following.

When the time came, two guards led me to the front of the palace, where I paused and took one more look back at the grand one floor castle...

I've lost it all. Decades of hard work I've placed into this land had been knocked down and stripped of me.

My hands clenched and unclenched, shoving the guards out of my way and pulling out the cloth of the carriage.

"...You better keep this place in order.", I advised them and pulled the silk back.

A few hours later, the carriage ceased movement and I felt the carriage I was in being placed down.

From the outside, I heard the most trusted Court Adviser of my father call out to the others that I had arrived.

I shuffled in my seat as and took in a deep breath, before ordering the curtain to be pulled back. Once they did, I stood up confidently and strutted out of the lowered carriage, greeted with two rows-each of them beside the main gate-of magnificently decorated carriages like my own. In front of each and every one of them, stood their respectful owners-concubines, princes, princesses, and such-surrounded by their own guards.

I ignored most of them, especially the older royalty, who either gave me snide glances, sniggers, or triumphant smirks.

I wanted to wipe those ugly looks off their faces so much. If it wasn't for the fact that the mighty Soul king was present in front of me, I think I would have. By chopping off all their heads.

"Soul King Hakusensha.", I bowed to my father dearest, who cleared his throat and gave me my final lecture before I would leave him forever.

"Fifteenth Princess Nami. Do you finally realize your error of life?", he began, "If you do, then you shall understand that as I am Soul King of this Dimension and of the Soul Society, this was the formal and proper punishment for those who defy the statute."

"As King of two dimensions, I will accept father's decision in the way a Princess should...", I answered and bowed to him again before seeing him return to the side of his carriage.

Afterward, I was allowed visitors who had last words before my departure speak to me. Only the younger ones ran up.

I weakly smiled and bent down to look at all of them, "Hi guys. Take care of each other alright?"

"Nami Hime...", one of the younger maids whimpered and wiped her tears.

"Nami-chan..."

"Nee-sama..."

"Hime..."

"We don't want you to go!"

"Can you stay?"

"Can you bring me with you?"

"..."

I looked over at my youngest brother, Ren, who had his back turned to me. He had been acting like so since that day he heard of the crime that I had apparently committed.

"Ren...", I reached for his face, but he pulled away and ran back to his carriage. It pained me to see him do that.

"Hime..."

I looked back at the youths before and sighed.

"The time for my departure has arrived.", I stated and took a few steps back.

A loud uproar erupted from the children as they ran after my retreating form. They were held back by the guards and maids.

"You. General.", I called and he ran up to me and bowed, "I will leave it to your hands that the younger maids and servants won't be treated wrongfully."

He bowed and opened silk screen for me.

One last glance back the dimension of the Soul King, my fists shook as I clashed with the detestable individuals. They were the cause of all this mess. If it hadn't been for them and my father's incompetence...

"...All of this...for a measly broken ink stamp!", I shouted and stormed into the embroidered carriage. I sat down and pulled on the jeweled mask that was forced on me.

I was fuming when the monks began to chant a song for the deceased during funerals. I scratched at the inner sides of the wooden carriage when I heard the cheerful farewells of all those I've ever angered. I wanted to scream at the mighty Soul King for being so blind when the gate opened.

I've lost everything that held power and meaning in my one hundred seventy years of life in this place.

Curse you all.

…

…

…

All thirteen Divisions of the Gotei 13 had been running about frantically for the past three weeks, trying to handle and prepare everything for the arrival of a Princess. From what Kensei and the other Taicho were told, she came from the dimension the Soul King inhabited and was the fifteenth princess to be fathered by him.

Kensei sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, he had stayed up late the past few nights in order to make sure that everything for this day was in order, and he had completed all of his Squad's paperwork to have time 'serving' this Princess.

"We were trained to be Shinigami and kill Hollows,", he reminded Shinji a few days back, "So why are we on Princess duty?"

"You've got to remember that she's from a whole other Dimension. Even the nobles here in the Seireitei have unnaturally high reiatsu. So can you imagine just how much spiritual pressure the prized _daughter_ of the Soul King must have? She's gunna attract all sorts of Hollows her way!"

"Why not just stay in her little Dimension then?", the silver haired man challenged, "If she's so precious, then why is she coming here?"

"Don't you pay attention at the Captain meetings? She was exiled for destroying the imperial stamp."

"And THAT'S why we all have to play princess and servant?"

He sighed and went on about how pretty she must be.

Thus, Muguruma Kensei, Taicho of Ninth Company, was standing alongside his fellow Captains awaiting the arrival of the Seireitei's new precious gemstone.

None of them, other than Sotaicho Yamamoto was allowed to observe the dimension opening revealed to the Soul Society. He had gone off at least five hours ago with no one following behind him. Kensei sighed once more. If she had been so rich in spiritual energy as Shinji had said, then one Shinigami may not cut it when Hollows would attack.

_'Well...it IS Yamamoto Sotaicho after all. We shouldn't be worried.'_

But still! They had to go through all this trouble for a girl that obtained her power because of birthrights. His entire Squad had been standing behind him just because of the Princess. Leaving the ENTIRE SEIREITEI FREE OF GUARDS.

"They're here!", the Lieutenant of Yamamoto's First Division spoke up and straightened his shihakusho.

"I'll bet she's really beautiful. My first love...", Shinji said dreamily and brushed one stray strand of hair out of his face.

"Let's hope that she better be worth all this trouble...", Kensei mumbled and unfolded his arms, "Oi! You two! Get in line and don't piss me more than I already am!"

"Kensei is such a brute and meanie...", Mashiro, his Assistant Captain whined and waved her hands around, "I'm going to tell the Princess to give you a good spanking."

Said brute and meanie snapped and began an attempt to strangle his Lieutenant, "I'm going to kill you, you little brat!"

"Nya! Nya!", she replied and danced in the same spot as the other Captains halted him from doing anything he would regret.

The Gotei 13 halted from whatever they were doing when a loud collision was heard. The sounds of multiple Hollows were heard cutting through the air reached their ears, and they were all instructed by the Commanding Shinigami to attack.

"Squad Five!", Shinji called and demanded they his Division take on the Hollows situated on their far left. War cries were heard as every Shinigami present charged toward the carriage and carts of the Princess.

One Hollow had made it toward the beautifully decorated carriage, and swooped its large fist down upon it, where the Princess with delicious reiatsu would have been seated. The sounds of female shouts were heard from within as the carriage was attacked and crushed.

"Shit!", Kensei cursed and used shunpo to head for the damaged wood, "Get out of there!"

Immediately afterward, a young girl who did not look any older than an ordinary nine year old mortal stumbled out, her pink kimono slightly torn and spoiled.

"The Princess...", he muttered and ran to her. The younger girl yelped as he wrapped one arm under her stomach and flash backed toward the area surrounded by more Shinigami.

"Let me go!", she shouted and pried herself out of him. He paused, confused with her actions when the Princess ran to the ruined carriage again.

"Hey!", he called and followed after her. Before she was able to push one large pole away, he had pulled her back and dragged her off, "You're supposed to get away from danger! Not embrace it!"

"No! No! I have to save-"

"There's no time to save your dog or whatever!", he persuaded, assuming that she had wanted to protect the life of a little animal, "Just let it die!"

"Who are you?", she screamed and began kicking him.

"I'm Captain Muguruma Kensei! Now move!", he answered as she kept on hitting his back, "Would you stop that? I'm here to protect you!"

"I have to go back to the carriage! I have to go back!"

"Just let the stupid animal die! You can get another one!"

"No!", she cried when Kensei brought her into the crowd of the other Seated Officers, placing her onto the floor. Immediately afterward, she took a few hasty steps forward again.

"Look!", he growled and pointed at the Hollow hovering over the carriage, "It's screwed okay? Your dog won't survive! So do us all a favour and just settle down!"

"Oh no!", the girl shouted, kicking and screaming at him for not letting her go back.

"Princess! I'm begging you to just stop and let us flipping take care of you!", he screamed and balled his hands into fists.

She froze, much to Kensei's content and her eyes doubled in size.

"Princess...?", she stared at him, her mouth opening and closing repeatedly

"What?", he asked and frowned.

"Did you just call me Princess?"

"Yeah..."

"Are you crazy?", she screamed and kicked his shin. Kensei cursed bloody murderer, she could kick hard!

"Ow! What was that for?"

The others, including Shinji and Rose ran up to them, their job finished once the Princess and her belongings were retrieved.

Shinji unsheathed his sword and peered over to the silver haired man, "Is the Princess safe?"

Kensei calmed down and nodded, "Yeah. Here she is."

They all stared down at the black haired girl as the ninth Taicho moved her into view of the other Shinigami. Their mouths dropped to the floor, much to Kensei's confusion.

"What are you guys doing?", he asked and crossed his arms.

"Kensei, is this the Princess?", Mashiro perked up.

He growled, "Did I just not say that?"

They all screamed at him furiously, running about in a wild manner manner.

"I can't believe you!", the younger girl shouted and they all stopped.

"What?", Kensei shouted and glared at her, "You should be happy that I saved you Princess!"

"I'm not Nami Hime!"

"...", he stood there silent, his confusion clearly evident on his face.

"...Huh?"

"I'm not the Princess!", she threw her small arms in the air and began crying.

"...You're not?", he scratched his head.

Shinji sighed and pushed him, "The Princess wouldn't be dressed in a maid's outfit! It's obvious that its not her!"

Mashiro crouched down to stare at the black haired girl, "Didn't Yamamoto Sotaicho say that she had just reached adulthood? Wouldn't that mean that she would be at least eighteen?"

"Exactly!", the maid girl cried and began running away again, Lisa holding her back before she could, "N-now...Nami Hime is gone!"

"This isn't good...", Shinji sighed and combed a hand through his hair.

"...T-then...WHERE _IS_ THE PRINCESS?" , Kensei shouted and looked around.

One cue, the shouts of an unfamiliar female voice echoed through the air. They all snapped their heads back to the Hollows, who were advancing toward the one nearest to the damaged carriage.

"Princess!", the young girl cried and squirmed around in the Lieutenant's hold.

The Hollow picked at the heap of wood and silk on the ground and cackled as it found what it was looking for. The Shinigami, standing nearly one baseball field away gasped as the large beast pulled out what looked to be like a bundle of finely crafted linen in its palm.

"Oh no.", Shinji spoke, "Don't tell me..."

"Kya!", the 'ball' of silk cried out and began squirming around.

"See? That's what I wanted to go back to the carriage, you idiot Taicho!", the small maid cried and landed punches on his haori, "That's the Princess! You idiot!"

"You _IDIOT!_", the rest of the Captains threw the same insult at Kensei and ran toward the remainder of surviving Hollows, releasing their zanpakuto.

Kensei could only mutter out one measly, "Oh shi-o-t."

Mashiro whined and threw kicks the same way as the younger maid, "Kensei is so stupid! The Princess is in danger all because of you!"

"...Shit...SHIT!", his voice grew and charged as well, "Cut the down! Tachikaze!"

"Kya!", the true Princess cried and tried hitting her fists at the wrist of the Hollow's, attempting to escape in some way, "Somebody! Please help me!"

…

…

…

"Somebody! Please help me!", I screamed at the top of my lungs, gagging at the smell of the beast's breath on me.

"Cease your cries of aid!", its low deep voice said from directly behind me, "Take a look!"

I obeyed, staring helplessly at the struggling little small ant like Shinigami from down below. All of them were occupied with the similar looking monsters, and those who tried reaching me with this thing were held back by even more Hollows.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Shinigami have always been useless little pieces of crap! And what more luck could I have had today than by crossing paths with such a mouthwatering main course? Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

"Silence!", I shouted, "How dare you refer your Royal princess in such an unsettling way!"

"Shut up girl! Do not anger me with your fancy talk! I am already annoyed to be around the little ants over there!"

"Ha! You say it like I actually want to be here!", I retorted and continued hitting the masked beast, "Take your hands off of me, you big fat pig!"

I immediately regretted my insult when he let out a loud screech, "You little wench! I'm going to swallow you hole and let you take in the pain of not being able to breath!"

I gasped as it opened its large fanged mouth and brought me forward to it. No. No! NO!

"Kya!", I cried out again, feeling its breath closer to my skin.

"Somebody! Please! Help meeeeeeee!"

"Blow, Tachikaze!"

My eyes shot open when I heard the gruff voice of a man. I winced as the monster before me screamed as the centre of its mask was cut wide open by a dark skinned lady. Afterward I saw something that resembled a glowing green whip fly past me and through the large hands of the beast.

"Kya!", I screamed again as the arm feel from my attacker's arm socket and landed on the dirt ground with great impact. I never stopped squirming.

"Let! Go! Of! Me! You horrible monster!", I threw a fit when the hold of the beast wasn't released even though it looked dead to me, "I command you to! You dare you defy your Princess?"

"It's alright Princess.", a smooth feminine voice said behind me. I turned around to look at the dark skinned lady from before to see that she was pulling me out of the arm. One other girl, a little older than my young maid, used her sword to disintegrate the arm of the monster into ashes.

"Princess, Miss Yoruichi, are you alright?", the younger one asked.

"Princess? Are you injured?", the taller female asked me, and I quickly shook my head.

"T-thank you, both of you for asking. But...what WERE those?"

"Those are called, 'Hollows', Princess.", 'Yoruichi' answered and picked me up.

I became slightly alarmed, and I held the supporting structure of my mask in proper place, "W-what are you doing?"

"Please let me carry you back to the others, Princess.", she smirked and turned to the two of us, "It is the only thing that I can do for you, after you've experienced such a horrible scenario."

For some awkward reason, my cheeks heated up, and I had noticed that the younger girl walking beside me was as well blushing. Let me just say that I was glad the pink silk and white dangling beads of my mask concealed my face completely.

I figured that the three of us had reached the other Shinigami when the dark skinned Yoruichi halted and placed me on my own two feet. I heard the quick and nervous mutters of the hoard of people in front of me grow louder.

"Nami Hime.", Yamamoto said as he approached me with a shorter child holding onto his haori.

"Yamamoto Sotaicho.", I said in a faint voice and opened my arms out to the girl running toward me.

"Nami Hime!", she cried out as her short arms latched around my hip, "I'm so sorry for not waiting for you!"

"It's fine Toko.", I offered and patted her head, "I was the one who told you to get out first."

She looked up at my masked face and tears began rimming at her eyes, "B-but...I wanted to come back! But...but...some dumb guy kept pulling me away!"

"Hey you-", I heard from the back of the crowd, a few men began shushing him.

My little maid spoke up again, "He said that you were going to die and-"

"Toko.", I said and it immediately silenced her, "I heard what he said."

Said little girl squirmed in my arms and ran back to the long bearded Commanding Captain, hiding behind him. Sensing her nervousness, he, along with Yoruichi and her subordinate look a few steps back away from my tense form.

Anger took the best of me.

"Apparently, some insane idiot believed that my maid was the Princess, and prevented her from trying to save her mistress, and then left me to die and fend for myself against those monsters...", I stated, and my fingers began twitching.

"...", they all fell silent.

"So,", I continued, "I'm some insignificant 'dog' that could be replaced."

"Hime-sama, I believe that the offending Shinigami meant no harm in it.", Yamamoto offered. I grew even angrier when I noticed he tried to hide the identity of said offending Soul Reaper.

I allowed one stiff arm go to the side to silence him. He did what I wanted, there was no sense in adding fuel to the fire if it could burn you.

"...I wonder, I wonder...", I said again, turning my gaze on all of them. Of course, none of them could see how furious I was with this cloth and beads covering me, "Who could this Shinigami could be."

I heard a few shuffling of feet.

I looked to the right, "Was it you?", to the left, "Or was it you..."

The steps of a few more people were heard.

One vein popped up on my forehead. One particular heavy pair of feet echoed annoyingly in my ear.

Three more veins protruded onto my face.

I startled Yamamoto Sotaicho when a my hand flew out in front of me, my right index finger pointed out.

"Muguruma Kensei!", I screamed, and immediately the moving pairs of muscled feet stopped.

"..."

"Muguruma Kensei, come forward and kneel down to your Princess! That's a command!"

Each Shinigami blocking my path stepped to the side immediately, allowing me the view of a tensed up tall macho man and his gigantic back facing me.

He hunched over and turned around, showing me the crown of his silver hair. I frowned and waited for him to stand before me.

"...", I heard him mutter something to himself as he kneeled down in front of me reluctantly.

"My-"

He didn't get to finish before I kicked him in the face with my five inch geta shoes.

-TBC-

**Please review!**

**-Tammy Sakamoto**


End file.
